Apocalypse Forecast

Chapter 759: Chapter 618 Hybrid_1

”...”

It was really like the gods had convened a meeting!

Tai Qing Heavy Industries.

A notorious military-industrial enterprise from the Dongxia Genealogy, a super-giant industrial conglomerate founded by the previous Owner of the Genealogy, Lu Wu, that spans across Current Circumstances, the Border, and Hell.

Huai Shi’s expression twitched. Suddenly, he slapped his smooth knees, saying loudly, ”Old Pal, this is a tough one... we’ll have to charge more!”

”...Is it that tough?”

Amber glanced at him, snorting coldly. ”There are even tougher things ahead!”

”I really can’t believe what you’ve done, you scoundrel!”

She glared at Huai Shi, full of resentment, before finally turning her gaze to a lone figure playing joyfully with goldfish by the pond in the distance.

She let out a sigh.

She was ready to just let things fall apart.

”Forget it. Actually, this works out perfectly. Since you’ve gained her trust... then you go be Zhenxi’s proxy,” she said. ”I’m afraid, apart from you, she doesn’t trust anyone else here.”

Huai Shi’s smile faded, growing cold. ”I refuse.”

”Don’t worry, I’ll give you the money and the reward as promised.”

”I know what you’re scheming, Amber, but you’d better save it,” Huai Shi said coldly. ”She’s just an ordinary person. You can’t push her into this inferno.”

”Huai Shi, from the moment you saved her, she was destined to become a thorn in someone’s side.”

”At least not mine, and she shouldn’t be yours either, Amber. She’s your blood relative. She can’t be the family head, not even your competitor; killing her would be too easy...”

Amber retorted, ”It won’t be easy for her to stay alive either.”

”...”

Huai Shi frowned. ”What do you mean?”

Amber didn’t speak, looking at Huai Shi as if suddenly realizing a mistake, her eyes wide with disbelief.

”You really haven’t done anything, Huai Shi.”

Her expression was one of either admiration or reassessment, truly unbelievable.

She moved closer, asking seriously, ”You two haven’t slept together?”

”You little brat, don’t treat me like some sort of sex maniac, okay!” Huai Shi fumed.

”Alright, we won’t bring up the gossip. Let’s just assume you’re a man of integrity.”

Amber sighed. ”If you had removed her clothes, you would have known—Huai Shi, she’s a Hybrid.”

Huai Shi froze.

Hybrid?

It took him a good while to remember: this was the term for Beastified Characteristic Beings. A partial mutation phenomenon that appeared in newborns in shallower regions of the Border...

But what did that have to do with Zhenxi, a girl from the countryside?

”She never told you, did she?”

Amber, irritated, took a drag of her cigarette and muttered, ”Probably, in our family, only Horn Mountain knows about this now, since it’s a family embarrassment.”

”Her father, my Uncle Qingping, was infected by the Abyss. She was unlucky, hit the jackpot, inheriting it passively. She was sent to a remote Border area from birth, and if it weren’t for the family head selection, she probably wouldn’t have had a chance to leave there... This is her only chance, Huai Shi.”

”Have you seen how most Hybrids live?”

Amber lowered her head, speaking softly. ”They are not protected by the Three Great Mystic Rituals; they must constantly endure the erosion of the Abyss within their bodies. If they cannot become Sublimators, they will die from Source Substance dissipation at fifty, forty, or even earlier. But most people are not that lucky. Various complications would begin tormenting them even earlier. Ankylosing spondylitis, diabetes, lupus, rheumatism... starting with the immune system, they suffer greatly... In the end, if they want to avoid dehydration, every grain of salt they ingest must be meticulously calculated. Most people can’t endure such torment and end up taking their own lives. How old is she now... Zhenxi?”

Huai Shi thought for a moment and said, ”Seventeen.”

”Then it’s coming soon,” Amber whispered with a sigh. ”Once adolescence ends, the pathological phase begins. From then on, it’s a long and painful downhill journey, all the way down to Hell.”

”She has no other choice, Huai Shi.”

Amber shook her head. ”She didn’t come here for a free ten-day tour of Kyoto. Even a fool knows how dangerous this is. But if she wants a way out... she has to fight for it. Otherwise, all that awaits her is a miserable death in her thirties or forties, just like my uncle.”

”If you ask me, that bastard should never have had kids!”

Amber crushed the cigarette under her foot, her expression dark. ”Why should one person’s suffering drag down the next generation?”

In the silence, Huai Shi suddenly said, ”I could send her to the Ivory Tower.”

Amber scoffed. ”Like keeping a pet? It’s not easy living in a sterile room, Huai Shi—”

Just as she was ready to mock him, Huai Shi looked up at her. He acutely perceived what she hadn’t said.

”The Li Jian family has a way to keep her alive?”

”...”

Amber’s expression stiffened momentarily.

From the depths of her heart, she couldn’t understand why this bastard’s sense of smell became so unreasonably sharp whenever it came to beautiful women...

After a long silence, she finally chose to reveal the family secret. ”Have you heard of *Southern General Satomi and the Eight Dogs*?”

Huai Shi decisively shook his head.

”What’s that?”

Amber couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

With your level of culture, how did you manage to become a teacher at the Ivory Tower?

”...To put it simply, it’s the legend of the Li Jian family ancestors. It’s said that at the most critical moment, a miracle named ’Eight Rooms’ descended from the heavens, transformed into a dog, blessed eight warriors, and helped the Li Jian family’s head successfully restore their domain,” she explained. ”Although most of it is fabricated, ’Eight Rooms’ itself is real.”

This is the Li Jian family’s most treasured possession.

The most precious secret.

The Stigmata Relic—Vajra Crystal Armor - Eight Chambers!

It inherits the Stigmatic powers of the Twelve Medicine God Generals, providing a defense often described as indestructible, akin to that of the Vajra Realm. Beyond its invincible Sword of Lapis Lazuli, the relic itself also guarantees the family’s continued lineage.

Without relying on the Astronomical Society’s quota, every hundred years, it allows eight people to become Sublimators without any future complications.

After fully disclosing the family heirloom’s effects, Li Jian Amber assured, ”Huai Shi, as long as I become the head, she will be the next among the Eight Canine Warriors. Only by becoming a Sublimator can she completely negate the Abyssal erosion in her body without any future complications. This is the best solution.”

”What else?”

Huai Shi cut to the chase. ”You’re the one who stands to gain more, aren’t you?”

”Yes,” Amber nodded. ”To control the Li Jian family, I need someone with a spotless background, someone I can trust to shoulder some of the responsibility for me... Is there anyone more suitable than Zhenxi?”

Huai Shi shook his head. ”Are you so sure she’ll cooperate with you? If she’s so easy to control, why wouldn’t she be influenced by others?”

”You’re the one who brought her to me, aren’t you?”

Amber laughed softly. ”Xuan Niao was right. The greatest opportunity lies with the first person to arrive. In fact, the original plan wasn’t like this. But a precondition was who would appear before me first. According to Xuan Niao’s suggestion: if it were Yuan Zhao, the ultimate outcome would be either very lucky or disastrous, with no in-between. But if it were you, the Li Jian family might still have a chance at preservation... I finally understand what he meant.”

Xuan Niao...

A suggestion from the King of Genealogy indeed carried weight. Especially with someone as crafty and calculating as Xuan Niao, who planned ten moves ahead while others took one—he could make a thousand-layer cake while others merely climbed a single story. Huai Shi could find no grounds for argument.

If it had been someone else, Huai Shi might have been scared and fled, worried about becoming cannon fodder, but Xuan Niao hardly bothered with such schemes. That old man was extremely cautious. His style was so balanced and flawless it had no vulnerabilities. His divination was frightening. He comfortably occupied a position between surefire earnings and no losses, always maintaining a relatively small profit... He alone was absolutely unwilling to take any great risks. Being a tool for the Dongxia Genealogy at least assured safety; there was no chance of unfortunate accidents like suddenly dying while out for a walk.

But the question was...

”What exactly does he want to do?” Huai Shi asked.

”I don’t know,” Amber shrugged. ”But it surely has nothing to do with the Astronomical Society or the Ivory Tower, and won’t affect you in any way... Or are you suggesting this is a conspiracy by Xuan Niao?”

As she spoke, she couldn’t help but glance in the direction of Kyoto, her tone turning somewhat mocking. ”In matters like these, it’s not like one side can be all fired up while the other remains cold, you know.”

Huai Shi sighed. ”Are you content with being a puppet then?”

”Don’t make it sound so unpleasant. Just a tool.”

Amber waved indifferently. ”Aren’t samurai like that? Being tools for the Emperor and Generals—what’s the difference between that and being a tool for Dongxia?”

”Besides...”

She suddenly asked, ”What if the Existence Institute were to designate Xinhai as a restricted area now, Huai Shi? Would you refuse to comply?”

”...”

Huai Shi was silent, without response.

If the situation were serious enough to warrant a lockdown by the Existence Institute, he likely... had no room for dissent.

”Exactly, isn’t it? The hairtail fish the Social Security Bureau sends out every year isn’t so easily consumed, Huai Shi.”

Amber crumpled the empty Seven-Star box into a ball and casually tossed it into a garbage can at the other end of the courtyard. She brushed off her hands and looked towards Zhenxi by the pond.

Zhenxi, noticing their gaze, looked back. She was holding a plastic bag with goldfish scooped from her own pond, excitedly waving at Huai Shi to show off her catch.

At the sound of Huai Shi’s pained sigh, it was Li Jian Amber’s turn to take delight in his misfortune.

”Go and discuss it well with your next employer,” Amber patted his shoulder and departed, ”I’ll leave life-and-death matters to you, Mr. Tool. A true beauty only needs to sit and wait for the results to be delivered.”

Humming happily, Little Amber left.

See that, little brother? This is the joy and victory of a rich woman!